1 cup soft fresh crumbs made from French or Italian bread, trimmed of crusts and pulverized in a blender or pulled apart with a fork

½ cup cold water

1 tablespoon flour

How To Cook:

1. Clean the squid, and carefully reserving the ink sacs in a small, fine sieve. Wash the tail cones, fins and tentacles under cold running water and pat them dry with paper towels. Set the tail cones aside, but chop the tentacles and fins finely.

2. To make the stuffing, pour ¼ cup of the olive oil into a heavy 8- to 10-inch skillet, and heat over moderate heat until a light haze forms above it. Add the chopped tentacles and fins, and, stirring constantly, cook for 1 or 2 minutes.

3. Then stir in ½ cup of the onions, ½ teaspoon of the garlic, the parsley, nutmeg, ¼ teaspoon of the salt and a few grindings of pepper, and cook for 5 minutes, or until the onions are soft and transparent but not brown. Add the crumbs and cook, stirring frequently until all the liquid in the pan is absorbed. Set aside.

4. Fill each tail cone with about 2 tablespoons of the stuffing, packing it loosely to within about ½ inch of the opening. Press the open edges of the cone together and pin them securely with a toothpick.

5. In a heavy 10- to 12-inch skillet heat the remaining ¼ cup of olive oil over high heat until a light haze forms above it. Add the squid and the remaining ½ cup of onions, 1 teaspoon of garlic and ¼ teaspoon of salt.

6. Distribute the onions around the squid and, stirring gently, cook over high heat for a minute or so. Then reduce the heat to the lowest possible point, cover the skillet tightly and simmer for 10 minutes.

7. Meanwhile, mash the ink sacs in the sieve with the back of a spoon, and press out as much ink as possible. Pour the water over the sacs and mash them again to extract any remaining ink.

8. The ink is usually black but may be brown in color and in either case the water should become dark and opaque. Add the flour to the ink and stir vigorously with a whisk until the mixture is smooth. Then pour the mixture into the skillet of simmering squid, stir gently, cover again and simmer for 10 minutes longer.

9. Remove the pan from the heat and, without removing the cover, let the squid rest for about 5 minutes before serving. Taste for seasoning and serve hot, accompanied if you like by hot boiled rice.